PAPYROLOGY

The Papirologia course is an optional teaching of the Master's degree in "Scienze dell'antichità: letterature, storia e archeologia".
This course provides students with the necessary training to learn how to read Greek papyri and, therefore, to use and analyze these historical and literary sources in the original form in which they were transmitted.

By the end of the course the students will have acquired:
- Basic knowledge and understanding of the various fields of papyrology (documentary, literary, digital and Herculaneum)
- Knowledge and understanding of the writing materials used in antiquity, and of the forms of the ancient book (papyri, ostraca and tablets of Egyptian origin)
- Knowledge and understanding of the different types of papyrus documents
- Ability to judge the editions of papyrus and the different types of writings in documentary and literary papyri
- Ability to apply this knowledge to the analysis and edition of a papyrus text
- Communicative ability to present the results in the standard scientific forms of the critical and digital edition

Basic knowledge of classical Greek.

The course provides the basics for the study of writing materials in the ancient world (ostraca, tablets, papyrus and parchment), with particular attention to the development of Greek writing of papyri and the form of documents and literary texts.
Part of the course consists in reading and commenting on images of papyri. Students will produce own digital editions of papyri on the basis of preceeding editions or photographs. These which will then be corrected by the teacher and eventually published online.
Non-attendants are required to contact the teacher to integrate the institutional preparation with the study of a choice of texts and original sources, as well as with exercises to be agreed according to their interests and their skills.

Mandatory bibliography
Nicola Reggiani, Papirologia. La cultura scrittoria dell'Egitto greco-romano, Parma 2019, cap. 1-8, 11, 13-15.
Further materials will be provided in moodle.

Recommended additional bibliography
- G. Cavallo, La scrittura greca e latina dei papiri. Una introduzione, Roma: Fabrizio Serra Editore, 2008.
- P. Parsons, La scoperta di Ossirinco. La vita quotidiana in Egitto al tempo dei Romani, Roma: Carocci 2014.
- R.S. Bagnall, Papiri e storia antica, ed. it. a cura di M. Capasso, Roma: Bardi 2007.
- H. Blanck, Il libro nel mondo antico, ed.it. a cura di R. Otranto, Bari: Dedalo 2008.
- O. Montevecchi, La Papirologia, Vita e Pensiero, Milano 1988 (pp. 3-25; 66-72; 139-148; 152-161; 165-173; 177-233).

The exam will be online and aora. It comprises a reading test of an image of a papyrus presented at the moment and some open questions on the bibliography, texts and topics covered during the course. For the first half of the questions questions there will be a short notional answer, for the other half an answer of average length that requires a good critical skill.

The first 12 and the penultimate 6 hours will be carried out in the conventional way (in presence with live streaming online), the 12 hours in between will be according to the switched classroom method (asynchronous), using moodle. Active participation of the students is required as mentioned above in the Contents. Attendance of the first twelve hours is strongly recommended.

Italian

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